President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Seychelles counterpart Wavel Ramkalawan on Monday, July 18 signed 10 key bilateral agreements at the State House, Victoria.
Uhuru agreed to work together on cooperation in the blue economy sector with an aim to enhance capacity building and exchange of expertise in the governance aspects of the blue economy as well as bolster the circular economy and collaboration in the aquaculture sector.
Other agreements signed were on Defence Cooperation Agreement, Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal, MOUs on tourism development, Cooperation in the areas of agriculture, livestock and cooperative sectors.
Also sealed was Cooperation in the field of sports and Promotion of partnership on gender equality and women economic empowerment.
Addressing the press after witnessing the signing of the agreements, President Kenyatta stated he had resolved with his host President Ramkalawan to further cooperate on, among other areas, matters of peace and security especially on marine security.
“Seychelles is a leading champion of the blue economy. We have, in that regard, agreed to strengthen our collaboration in protecting and ensuring sustainable utilization of our ocean resources,” President Kenyatta said.
On his part, President Ramkalawan said President Kenyatta’s visit to Seychelles was significant to the two countries as it reaffirmed the multifaceted relations the two nations have enjoyed the years.
“Kenya and Seychelles had substantial bilateral cooperation in fields such as education, health, trade, agriculture, civil aviation as well as strong people-to-people ties even before the establishment of diplomatic relations on 10th January 1990,” President Ramkalawan remarked.
The two leaders also penned Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) for cooperation on peace, security and law enforcement at sea as well as maritime affairs.
The pacts were put together through a Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of the two nations which considered avenues to be explored to enable Kenya and Seychelles to fully maximize and further solidify their existing ties
Currently there are 846 Kenyans living in the country, among them several expatriates in the education and health sectors.
Among these are teachers and 50 health workers who were recruited by the Ministry of Health in March 2020 following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Ambassador Raychelle Omamo signed the agreements on the Kenyan side while Seychelles Foreign Affairs and Tourism Minister Sylvestre Radegonde signed on behalf of his country.
